Babe Ruth’s Granddaughter Reflects on Decision to Sell Family Treasures

Tuesday was a difficult day for Linda Ruth Tosetti. More so than she actually envisioned.

Tosetti, the granddaughter of Babe Ruth and the daughter of Ruth’s only biological daughter, was stepping to the podium at a press conference conducted by Hunt Auctions to announce the auction of several Ruth items that have been in the possession of Tosetti for more than 50 years. Staring back at her “were all these long faces.” How could you sell your grandfather’s stuff, they seemed to be saying.

Linda Ruth Tosetti

In time, however, she had the room smiling as she told a couple of stories about The Babe that her mother had passed down (Linda was born seven years after Ruth’s death in 1948). One such story centered on an urn that sat amongst some of the items that will be in the Hunt auction. It was one given to Ruth while he was in Japan with several MLB stars for games against the country’s best. Tosetti recalls her mother – Dorothy Ruth Pirone – talking about how much he appreciated the Japanese fans who obviously adored the big American legend. The urn meant a lot to him . . . until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

Urn presented to Babe Ruth in Japan (Image: Hunt Auctions)

“My mother said he went into a rage, a serious rage, that day,” Tosetti told Beckett Vintage Collector. “And he never raged like that, which made it all the scarier.”

Tosetti says her mother told her on the day of the attack, Ruth took the urn and kicked it against a wall, with the urn bouncing back once before her mother could grab it and throw it in the closet. It still exhibits a toe mark where The Bambino booted it.

“He was so mad,” Tosetti told BVC. “My mother said if she had been wearing the kimono that he had brought her from Japan, she probably would have been flying out the window that day.”

While Tosetti said the decision to sell the Ruth collection of items that include game-used items and lots of autographed memorabilia was difficult, she had grown tired of worrying about the items being kept at her home. Theft, fire, there had become less and less of a reason to continue to keep such valuable pieces hidden away.

Lou Gehrig signed photo inscribed to Babe Ruth (Image: Hunt Auctions)

Indeed, they had already lost one piece that had actually been out on display in the home – an autographed ball of the 1927 Yankees Murderers’ Row team. “It was taken from the house,” Tosetti said. “My brother had a party and one of his friends stole it. So we know about losing things.”

Safety was also an issue. It had gotten to where Linda and husband, Andy, were worried about the memorabilia in their house so much that it was beginning to affect their daily lives. “We had sat on this stuff for a while and it was a big secret, not because we planned to do this [auction],” she said. “It was a big secret because I didn’t want to get hit on the head when they stole it. We live in the country, and its vogue now to hit country houses because they don’t have police departments. It’s not safe anymore. Or we would go away and think, ‘What if there’s a fire?’ We really are sleeping better now that the stuff isn’t here anymore.

“I used to lie and say, no, I don’t have anything of my grandfather’s – it’s all at the Hall of Fame, just because of that,” Tosetti said.

Now everyone will have an opportunity to own some of the things The Babe owned.

Babe Ruth Barnstorming Trunk (Image: Hunt Auctions)

The live auction event is scheduled for next June 15 at Yankee Stadium. Hunt Auctions say additional special advance preview events for the auction will be conducted in the future.

Highlight Items from the Ruth Collection include:

• Babe Ruth  Professional Model cleats
• Babe Ruth 60th Home Run Autographed display piece
• Babe Ruth 1934 Tour of Japan Champion Batsman presentational trophy
• Lou Gehrig signed and inscribed photograph to Babe Ruth
• Babe Ruth’s 1930-31 New York Yankees “Better year than President” player contract
• Babe Ruth 1935 Boston Braves autographed contract agreement
• Babe Ruth personal check ledger with related signed documents
• Babe Ruth single signed baseballs and autographed photographs
• Babe Ruth 1934 Tour of Japan presentational pass
• Babe Ruth personal photographic albums including autographed exemplars
• Babe Ruth 12 Point Deer Trophy Mount with photographic provenance

Babe Ruth’s 1930 Contract (Image: Hunt Auctions)

“The legacy and significance of Babe Ruth to the game of baseball and American popular culture is unmatched by any other figure in the history of this country,” said David Hunt, President of Hunt Auctions. “We are completely humbled for this opportunity afforded to our company by the Ruth family to present this previously unknown archive of materials to Babe’s adoring fans. The importance of this offering cannot be overstated to which we fully expect record pricing levels in numerous categories.”

Hunt Auctions and the Ruth family announced that some of the proceeds raised in the auctioning of the items will go to charity – a move that Hunt says The Babe would appreciate.

Babe Ruth Bat (Image: Hunt Auctions)

“This special auction will provide the opportunity to share some of the Ruth family memorabilia that has remained in our possession since the Babe’s passing in 1948,” said Tom Stevens, the Babe’s grandson.  “None of these items have been previously offered to the collecting public. The Babe lived a life that was meaningful to millions of fans for many diverse reasons.  Perhaps one of the most important was that he offered hope and inspiration during the depths of the depression, because despite his humble beginnings, Babe Ruth grew up to become the very embodiment of the American Dream.  And make no mistake, he is still as relevant today as ever.”